Au revoir, until we meet again . . .

I love the look of old European train stations with their manificent glass and iron ceilings!

 . . . But after my experiences this morning, I don't know if I want to come back. I suppose I will calm down and re-think that position when I have enough distance from it.

I gave myself plenty of time to get to Bordeaux from my B&B in Eymet. It should take about 1:45 hrs to make the drive, so I left 3:15 hours early to give myself a cushion and time perhaps for a cup of coffee. So my GPS got me to the vicinity of the train station and on the road where the rental car company offices were located. I drove in the city traffic around the block a few times--all one way streets--and just could not find them. Frustrated, I pulled into a supermarket parking lot and called Europcar. I had hoped to get the local office directly, but was talking to a guy at a central dispatch office. He tried to be helpful and gave me the cross streets from Google maps.So I was off again with the new coordinates, but had absolutely no luck. Fifteen mins later, I found a parking spot near the train station, walked there,and looked for an info booth. Found one. The woman was very helpful, drew me a map and explained that I had to circle in front of the train station, take the bridge over the tracks and then the street behind the station to find the offices. Okay, I took the left to put me on the street in front of the Gare St Jean, but quickly panicked when I discovered I was driving on the trolley tracks!! OMG! I tried to find a way out of the lane, and ended up having to sneak past a group of people waiting for a bus. They parted for me like the water parted for Moses. Okay, that's a bit dramatic. I did get some really nasty faces. Okay, I was back on the street, but heading in the wrong direction. So I found a rotary, made the loop and started back on the route the info woman drew for me. Finally, I saw the signs. I parked the car and looked at the clock. I had been circling for nearly an hour. So, now I am at the station and my ticket receipt says I must use a kiosk to get my boarding card. Okay, I see the kiosks and begin the process, but when I am asked to insert the credit card I made the original purchase with, I discover the machines only take European chip cards. Fuck! Now, I look at the line to purchase tickets and it's 100 people deep. Fuck! I got in line then spotted a woman in uniform heading in my direction. I waved her down,told her my problem and she said she could help. So I got out of line, the transaction worked and I went to look at the monitor to see which track my train was on. Some good news: Track 1 is where I was standing. I asked someone where the first class cars would be and they indicated the far end of the Platform. I dragged my bags several hundred feet through the giant station and waited. The train came and I found, I thought, my coach number 3. Then I panicked when I saw that the train was going to Strasbourg, not Paris. Fuck! I found a train employee and asked him what to do. He tried to explain that the train splits in half at some point, with half going to Strasbourg, and the other end heading to CDG. So my car was all the way at the other end of the train. I had about 2 minutes to get there. I ran over some old ladies' toes with my luggage. I used my elbows to clear the way. I arrived at car 3 with seconds to spare. I was soaked in sweat and my heart was racing. So, I used every second of the extra 1.5 hours I allowed for a cushion. Au revoir, Bordeaux! It will be a damn long time before you find me in your city again. Well, okay, maybe sooner than that.